Hotel Review: Red Lion Denver Southeast

It’s been a while since I’ve spent 12 days in the same hotel, but I recently did just that at the Red Lion Denver Southeast in Aurora, Colorado. I was there as part of a 2-week management training event. The stay was unique in that the training provider contracts with the hotel for lodging as well as all meals for the 2 week stay. So unless I wanted to pay out of pocket (which I did a few times just to get out and about), I ate at the hotel.

Since I don’t frequently stay at Red Lion properties, I thought links to details about the chain, and their frequency program, R & R Club would be helpful. The R&R Club has three membership levels, Red, Gold, and Platinum, and your points earning abilities increase as your climb up the membership ladder rises. Red Lion is a Spokane, Washington based company, and all of their properties are located in the western U.S. and Canada.

Check in

I arrived at the hotel via their complimentary airport shuttle a bit before noon on check in day. At that hour, the lobby was very quiet, but one person was ahead of me to check in. Of course, they were the one person to have an “issue” the whole day! It seemed like a long wait, but I’m sure it wasn’t more than 5 minutes or so. In any event, the desk clerk was quite apologetic, and within a few minutes, I was on my way to room 517 which the clerk noted was “one of our suites.”

The Room

I took the elevator to the 5th floor, and found room 517 just off the elevator and to the left. I’m typically not a fan of being close to the elevator, but I found the room to be plenty quiet….and best of all, huge! There was a large sofa, comfortable chair, and work desk in the living area, not to mention huge LCD TV, wet bar, and fridge. The bedroom area was large as well, and the bed was very comfortable. The bedroom also had a large LCD TV. The bath was equipped with a walk in shower, tub, and double vanity. Not a huge deal since I was traveling alone, but would definitely be a benefit when 2 people need to get dressed.

I took the liberty of making a short iPhone video.

Around the Hotel

As I mentioned earlier, I was attending an intensive 2-week management training event and did not accomplish my usual amount of around town exploration. That said, I did make it to one restaurant that I thought was worth mentioning, The Aurora Summit Steakhouse. Wow, just wow. I’m sure there are better steaks somewhere, but I personally found my Ribeye to be of Ruth’s Chris quality for a reasonable price. If you like steaks, and are in the Aurora area, give The Summit a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The hotel’s on Altitude Lounge was a frequent haunt. Hey, I was there 2 weeks without a car, sue me. 🙂 Like the rest of the hotel’s staff I interacted with, the bar staff was friendly, and quick to serve. I frequently camped out there at night with my laptop to get work done via the hotel’s free wi-fi network. MJonTravel shoutout to Rico and everyone at Altitude.

Constructive Criticism and The Bottom Line

Nothing bad to say. The hotel was fine. There was one morning without hot water at 7am, which the hotel made up to my classmates and I. Not sure what happened, but I believe the root cause was a mechanical issue that was corrected. I’ve also seen better wi-fi service, but like I said, it was free, and it mostly worked. The hotel probably isn’t far from a minor facelift. Some of the doors, elevator entries, etc, have been beaten up by hapless travelers with their bags, but certainly not to the point of making me wonder if another hotel would be better. In short, the Red Lion did OK by me for my 2-week stint. If business takes you to Aurora, consider the Red Lion Denver Southeast.

Marshall Jackson is an aviation enthusiast and avid cruiser. After 10 years in the airline business, Marshall moved on to a new career that includes plenty of travel and plenty of cruises, and that’s just the way he likes it.